1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to thermal heat spreaders, integrated circuit (xe2x80x9cICxe2x80x9d) assemblies containing heat spreaders, and methods of making the heat spreaders and assemblies.
2. Related Art
An IC die may be mounted on a substrate to form an IC assembly. For example, a die may be mounted on a package substrate to form an IC package, or the die may be mounted directly to a printed circuit board (xe2x80x9cPCBxe2x80x9d). To dissipate heat from the die, a heat spreader is typically thermally coupled to the back of the die. Generally, there is a thermal interface material (xe2x80x9cTIMxe2x80x9d) between the die and the heat spreader. Poor adhesion between the TIM and the heat spreader is a common problem.
There is therefore a need to improve adhesion between the heat spreader and the TIM. There also is a need to improve such adhesion in a cost-effective manner.